By Bunmi Yekini
As the world marks World Hand Hygiene Day today, May 5, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a strong reminder that while medical gloves are useful, they are no replacement for proper hand hygiene.
“Medical gloves can reduce the risk of infection, but they are never a replacement for hand hygiene,” said Dr. Bruce Aylward, WHO Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Life Course. “On this World Hand Hygiene Day, let us double down on our commitment and action to improve hand hygiene in health care settings to ensure the safety of patients and health-care workers.”
WHO’s latest call-to-action underscores that hand hygiene remains one of the most effective, affordable, and universal methods to prevent infections and ensure clean, safe medical care.
Despite its simplicity and cost-effectiveness, nearly two in five health care facilities globally still lack basic hand hygiene services at the point of care, placing 3.4 billion people at risk.
The agency highlights a significant economic benefit: every US $1 invested in hand hygiene can yield up to US $24.6 in returns.
Beyond infection risks, improper glove use is also contributing to massive healthcare waste. WHO warns that gloves are often misused, worn unnecessarily, or not changed between patients, resulting in contamination risks and environmental strain.
An average university hospital in a developed country produces over 1,600 tons of healthcare waste annually, the equivalent of 360 African elephants. Much of this waste is avoidable with better glove practices and hand hygiene.
“Gloves are protective, but not foolproof or without problems,” WHO stressed. “They can become contaminated like hands and are often worn far longer than necessary.”
The organization is urging policymakers and health leaders to take key steps, including:
Making hand hygiene compliance a national health system indicator by 2026;
Aligning efforts with WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care;
Training health workers on the appropriate use of gloves and the WHO’s “5 moments for hand hygiene”;
Reducing unnecessary glove use to cut waste;
Ensuring resources are available for hygiene at the point of care.
This year’s campaign comes with a powerful slogan: “It might be gloves. It is always hand hygiene.”